1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to capped nuts used for fastening the wheels of automotive vehicles to their hubs by threadably mounting them on lugs extending from the hubs. The caps on the nuts serve to protect them as well as form decorative exposed surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Chaivre, U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,806 disclosed a capped wheel nut in which the nut body itself has two conical sections, the first engaging the wheel and the second retaining the crimped cap end. These surfaces are interconnected, according to this patent, by a cylindrical, non-tapered land for the purpose of preventing interference between the cap and wheel while at the same time giving the appearance of a merging of the cap and conical surfaces. The Chaivre construction has been found in practice to permit only limited and discontinuous crimping of the cap end against the nut body. In order to satisfy stringent automotive requirements and prevent loosening of the cap under repeated impact wrench forces, it has been found necessary with the Chaivre construction to weld the cap to the body. This in turn has necessitated alteration of the upper cap configuration in order to provide welding surfaces.